He's one of the most famous fictional characters in children's literature since 1958, wears a red hat, dresses in his signature blue duffel coat, and loves marmalade a lot. He's none other than Paddington Bear, who has not only appeared in a series of children's books, but also in the animated TV series as well. Now, the beloved Paddington Bear will be heading to our local cinemas soon with his big-screen debut since receiving its rave reviews after it premiered in the U.K. last month. So what makes "Paddington" such a highly-anticipated family movie event this holiday season? Well, here are the five marmalade-licious reasons!
Despite the worldwide fame of Paddington in popular culture, he has thus far only appeared in literature form and the animated TV series. So it's really great to know that "Paddington" has finally made its way for his first live-action big-screen adventure that is going to bring a sense of nostalgia among many kids and adults alike from around the world.
The animators from the movie have certainly done a wonderful job recreating the beloved bear in a lifelike CGI version that blends seamlessly with the real background. At least from what we have witnessed in the trailers that have been released so far, "Paddington" has the most realistic-looking CGI talking bear since "Ted". Not to mention, he looks cuddly as well.
The filmmakers behind "Paddington" sure know how to assemble exceptional talents from the U.K. and Australia as their cast. Among them, of course, are Ben Whishaw (best known as the young Q in "Skyfall") voicing the role of Paddington; Nicole Kidman as Millicent; Michael Gambon ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2") voicing the role as Uncle Pastuzo; Sally Hawkins ("Blue Jasmine", "Godzilla") as Mrs. Brown; Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake", "Maleficent") voicing the role of Aunt Lucy; Jim Broadbent ("Moulin Rouge", "Cloud Atlas") as Mr. Gruber; Hugh Bonneville (TV's "Downton Abbey") as Mr. Brown; and Julie Walters ("Brave") as Mrs. Bird. With such acting talents combined together, it's hard to give this a miss.
Paddington may be cute and lovable, but he's also a mischievous bear. So it's no surprise that the big-screen version will tickle the kids' funny bones with plenty of broad comedy. One such scene, which is already shown prominently in the trailers, is the elaborate sequence where Paddington finds himself in lots of trouble using the toiletries in the bathroom.
A few months ago at the end of May 2014, Angelina Jolie had given a scene-stealing performance playing a villainous role as Maleficent. Now it looks like it's Nicole Kidman's turn to join the list of this year's big-screen female villains with her evil taxidermist role as Millicent, who is determined to stuff Paddington for her museum collection. "Paddington" opens in cinemas nationwide on 11 December.